PRIDE OF DETROIT - 1927

 

Schlee & Brock - The Pride of Detroit Photo from the Globe-Democrat Collection St. Louis Mercantile Library University of Missouri at St. Louis, Courtesy of Leigh D. Johnson, 5-4-08

 

The Stinson SM-1 Detroiter, The Pride of Detroit - 1927 Ancient Aviators Website Photo Courtesy of Roy Nagl

 

ONLINE RESOURCES -1      If you search for "William S. Brock +aviation" using the Google search engine, (3-6-07), you will find about 21 links. I haven't found any really comprehensive links, but you can enjoy quite a few interesting anecdotes by visiting each of the links.

ANCIENT AVIATORS By Roy Nagl       This page on Roy's website offers a very nice photo of the Pride of Detroit and a resumé of his attempted flight around the world. You may want to use your "FIND" function on "Brock" to locate the item on the page. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

TOWN OF HARBOUR GRACE      This is a very beautiful and comprehensive website which offers sections on: History, Events, Attractions, Photos, Town Flag, Regatta, Air Strip, etc. The section on the air strip is especially interesting and offers stories of the many pioneer flyers who used the field. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

HARBOUR GRACE AIRSTRIP      This webpage offers a history of the airstrip which was built to accomodate the attempt of Brock and Schlee to make a round-the-world flight in 1927. The following excerpt will serve to introduce you to the story.      "Ask anyone what Newfoundland means in the world of flying and the answer has to be Gander, that massive maze of runaways, that makes up Canada's huge transatlantic air terminal. It's the big name in Canadian aviation history. Besides it, Harbour Grace is almost insignificant, virtually unknown.      The year 1995 marks the 68th anniversary of the construction of the airstrip at Harbour Grace which most of the pioneer trans Atlantic flights used as their take-off point in the conquest of the Atlantic by air. http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/daphne.mercer/air.htmThe daredevil days of flying out of this tiny airstrip, in its day closer to Europe than any other in North America, began in early 1900's."      I am sure you will enjoy learning more about the importance of this isolated airstrip in the history of flights across the Atlantic.

Street Names of Gander By Stephanie Sinnott      This website became obsolete in 2002, but I was able to recover the text by using the "www.waybackmachine.org" website as follows:      "The airstrip in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, owes its existence to the much celebrated 1927 round the world attempt by William S. Brock and Edward Schlee, in the Stinson monoplane 'The Pride of Detroit'. From August 8 through August 26, workers cleared a runway 4,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. On the day of completion the Stinson touched down, 12 hours out of Old Orchard, Maine. The two were also, later falsely accused of photographing secret military installations and allegedly jailed for many weeks. They were later released."

 

ONLINE RESOURCES -2      If you search for "Pride of Detroit +museum +aviation" using the Google search engine, (12-27-03), you will find about 10 links. The site featured below helps to bring the story up to date.

 

The Pilot's Lounge #67: A Museum Rescues Its Aviation Collection      On this page of the AV WEB, you can read an article by Rick Durden which recounts the recent improvements at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, with special reference to the attention given to the aviation exhibits, perhaps in response to the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brother's flight. You will find a paragraph devoted to the 1927 Stinson Detroiter --to the "Pride of Detroit", which is a featured exhibit in the museum. You can access the site by clicking on the title above. If time permits, you may want to visit the Museum homepage to enjoy some of the many exhibits which are available online.

 

EARLY BIRDS MEET IN DETROIT - 1932      In this report of the meeting in Detroit, you will find a brief conversation between William S. (Billy) Brock and Harold (Doc) Kinkaide. The specific paragraphs are about 2/3 the way down the page. I think you will find it interesting to read the whole story. To go to the page, just click on the title above.

 

SPARE PARTS from HERE, THERE and EVERYWHERE - 1936      Nine years ago, this August 27-28, Early Bird William S. "Billy" Brock and William F. Schlee flew their "Pride of Detroit" across the broad Atlantic in the first airplane flight to England. They flew from Harbor Grace to Croydon, 2350 miles non-stop in 23:19:00, in the course of a flight to Japan. Their's was the eighth non-stop crossing of either Atlantic. This plane is now in the Early Bird exhibit of the Edison Institute, at Dearborn, Mich. from CHIRP - AUGUST, 1936- DEARBORN MICH. - NUMBER 20 courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 

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5-13-08 Leigh D. Johnson....LeigJohnson@compuserve.com